 |
|
TED WILLIAMS |
THE CURSE OF THE BAMBINO, PART 2 ...
A POWERFUL RED SOX TEAM FAILS
IN THE WORLD SERIES ...
Ted's double and triple leads
the Sox over Washington
June 29, 1946 ... The Red Sox hammered out a dozen hits for a 12 to 8 triumph over the Washington Senators at Fenway Park and kept alive
Tex Hughson's personal winning streak. The Sox will usually provide Hughson with a run or two and tell him to hold the lead gave him great support today.
Entering the game with four straight wins, three of them by shutout, Hughson lasted only five innings. The Senators slapped him harshly, his 23 innings of scoreless pitching being wiped out in the first inning of this game. After trailing 4-0, the Sox presented him with a 7 to 4 advantage
when they chased Walt Masterson in the third inning. Tex had to be removed in the sixth inning in favor of Bob Klinger, with the score 9-6.
Ted Williams' bat again blazed with authority. Only twice did the Senators give him a chance to hit the ball, and he lashed out a three-run double in the third inning, and a leadoff triple in the sixth. Those hits gave him the lead in the American League batting leadership with a .361 mark
against Mickey Vernon's .359. His three RBI raised his total to 65, giving him a three run lead over Bobby Doerr. Three times during the game Williams was passed with one being intentional.
The Senators have been a jinx team for Hughson. They had hit him harder and more often than any club in the American League. They hit him for four hits and three runs in the first inning. Stan Spence belted his 11th homer off Tex in the third inning to put the visitors out in front 4-0.
Masterson pitched to me innings of hitless ball for Washington, but went wild in the third inning. He walked Hal Wagner and Hughson on eight pitches and then walked Culberson and Pesky to force in a run. Al LaMacchia was then brought in to pitch to Ted with the bases loaded. The count was
1-1 when Williams lined a vicious drive to left-center. Everyone was running at the crack in the back and all three runners easily scored as Ted cruised into second base to tie the score. Bobby Doerr then hit a hard grounder into center field and was held to an infield single with Williams
stopping at third. After Joe Grace scooped Rudy York's drive to deep right field Williams scored the tiebreaking run. Dom DiMaggio singled and Wagner walloped a double that brought home another run.
The Sox scored a pair of runs in the fourth inning and their 10th tally was recorded in the sixth. Williams lofted a triple off the center field bleacher wall and was chased home by Bobby Doerr's single. In the seventh, Johnny Pesky knocked in another pair of teammates with a double over
Grace's head in deep right field.
With the Yankees being shut out by the Athletics, the Sox lead in the American League went back up to eight full games. The Senators have lost 13 of their last 17 games. |
